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Archive: Sep 2007

Truth and Fidelity, in a Ballad

I have posted an original translation of Schiller’s Die Bürgschaft. This is a ballad, one of the most significant in the totality of world literature, perhaps even the most important.…

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Schiller’s ‘The Hostage’

Damon, with a dagger in his robe, Crept up to Dionysius, the tyrant; Whose attendants fell in slumber. “What do you seek with that dagger? Speak!” The angry voice challenged…

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Diderot the Romantic

Sentiment and life are eternal. Someone who lives has always lived and will continue to live forever. The only difference I know between death and life is that now you…

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The ‘B’ham News’ Revs Up the Slime Machine

A No Comment reader who works at the Birmingham News tells us that a certain editor and writer at the illustrious Pravda of the South are royally pissed off at…

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The Michael V. Drake Affair

The politically controversial chancellor of the University of California at Irvine, ophthalmologist Michael V. Drake, is now the center of a storm of controversy as a result of his decision…

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Chesterfield on the Proclivities of Little Minds

Little minds mistake little objects for great ones, and lavish away upon the former that time and attention which only the latter deserve. To such mistakes we owe the numerous…

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Fredo’s Last Day

Alberto Gonzales spends his last day in the office as Attorney General today. On Monday, Paul Clement assumes his duties as Acting Attorney General. As the Washington Post observes today,…

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Politicians and the Military

Recently, I noted the comments of a retired flag officer, who though historically a strong Republican, noted his strong discontent with the way the Pentagon had been politicized. It led…

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Six Questions for Kim Long on the History of Political Sleaze

Kim Long is the author of the new book The Almanac of Political Corruption, Scandals & Dirty Politics, which chronicles several centuries of American political bribery, mudslinging, influence peddling, and…

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Giuliani Advisor: Raze Palestinian Villages

On September 11, staffers for Barack Obama had a campaign ad taken down that had appeared as a “sponsored link” on Amazon.com’s web page for The Israel Lobby and U.S.…

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The Remarkable ‘Recusal’ of Leura Canary

Alabama media continue to report uncritically on almost every statement that emanates from the office of Leura Canary, the U.S. Attorney in Montgomery, who is currently in the crosshairs of…

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Samuel on the Curse of Kings

Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, ‘This is what the king who will reign over you…

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The Benczkowski-Siegelman Letter

On September 4, the Justice Department responded to the request of House Judiciary Chair John Conyers and three other members requesting information surrounding three cases—in Alabama, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin—in which…

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Novus Ordo Seclorum

It’s there on every dollar bill. Turn it over and read the legend under the pyramid–“novus ordo seclorum”–“a New Order of the Ages.” Hollywood makes it the center of a…

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Virgil’s ‘Eclogue IV’

Muses of Sicily, let us now undertake A somewhat greater task! Not all men love Coppice or lowly tamarind: sing we woods, Woods worthy of a Consul let them be.…

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Virgil on the Laws of War

Quod genus hoc hominum? Quaeve hunc tam barbara morem permittit patria? Hospitio prohibemur harenae; bella cient primaque vetant consistere terra. Si genus humanum et mortalia temnitis arma, at sperate deos…

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Dave Petraeus is God (Or Merely a White House Flunky)

Don’t bother reading any of the media reviews regarding the congressional testimony of General David Petraeus. Once again turn to the Daily Show for far and away the best analysis.…

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The DOJ ‘Voter Fraud’ Fraud Marches On

Alberto Gonzales is down to his last couple of days as Attorney General, he appears to be focusing his attention on the 2008 elections. What, you might ask, does the…

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The Next War

Dr. Dan Plesch and Martin Butcher of the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies look at the signs for an American aerial war on Iran and say…

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A Taste of Things to Come

Today, the Government of Russia has resigned, so President Putin will be appointing a new prime minister and cabinet shortly. Vedomosti, perhaps the most sober assessor of political news in…

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Tolstoy on the Parade of Human Vanities

A Frenchman is self-assured because he regards himself personally, both in mind and body, as irresistibly attractive to men and women. An Englishman is self-assured, as being a citizen of…

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The Shock Doctrine: A Short Film by Alfonso Cuarón and Naomi Klein

Alfonso Cuarón, director of Children of Men, and Naomi Klein, author of No Logo, present a short film from Klein’s book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. An…

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Jerry Burke on Iraq’s Corrupt Police Force

Yesterday General David Petraeus spoke before Congress. “Iraq’s armed forces are improving,” the Washington Post said in summarizing Petraeus’s remarks. “Overall violence is down. Sunnis are turning against Al Qaeda…

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Betraying Our Troops: Six Questions for Dina Rasor and Robert Bauman

Dina Rasor and Robert Bauman, Betraying Our Troops: The Destructive Results of Privatizing War (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007)(foreword by Jonathan Alter) $24.95. Dina Rasor and Robert Bauman have a…

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Media Alert

Something’s fishy in the Department of Justice. Judiciary Committee Chair John Conyers looks into the very strange prosecution of former Alabama Governor Don E. Siegelman and the Justice Department responds…

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The Pakistan Conundrum

If you listen to the charlatans who regularly appear on American mass media as counterterrorism “experts”—you know, the ones who couldn’t explain the difference between a Sunni and a Shi’a…

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